1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle air-vent, and more particularly to a vehicle air-vent for uniformly transmitting operation force, exhibiting superior performance by easily detecting the rotation range of a knob in order to open and close a damper by detecting the rotation range of the knob using a stopper and by elastically moving the stopper.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, an air-vent of a vehicle is an air discharging device of an air conditioning system for maintaining the indoor air at a predetermined temperature, and includes a wing installed at the front side thereof and adjusting the discharge direction of the air, and a damper installed on the inside thereof, being opened and closed to control the air discharge.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the conventional air-vent 10 includes a front duct 23 having a wing 25 rotated horizontally and vertically, a rear duct 24 having a damper 12 installed on the inside of the rear duct 24, and devices, installed at the lower side of the front duct 23, for opening and closing the damper 12.
A rotatable knob 11 as a manipulation device is installed at the lower front side of the front duct 23 by screws and washers 22, and the damper 12, as a device for blocking and allowing the air stream, is installed on the inside of the rear duct 24 and is rotated about the side shafts of the damper 12.
Moreover, a first link 16 is integrally coupled with a shaft 26 of the damper 12 and is operated together with the shaft 26. The knob 11 is formed with a hole 27 at the rear side thereof. A second link 18 has one side connected to the hole 27 by a pin 17a and the other side connected to the first link 16 by a pin 17b. 
The second link 18 is bent at ane intermediate portion thereof, so as to compensate for the height difference between the knob 11 and the damper 12 when assembling the air-vent.
As such, the rotation of the knob 11 is transmitted to the damper 12 by motion of the first and second links 17 and 18 so as to open and close the damper 12.
Meanwhile, the knob 11 has a recess 19 formed at the rear side of the knob 11 by cutting off circumference of the knob 11. In the track of the recess 19, a stopper 20 formed at the wall of the front duct 23 is placed to limit the rotation angle of the knob 11 to 70 degrees.
In particular, the sides of the recess 19 and the stopper 20 are respectively formed with locking blocks 21a and 21b, so that, if the knob 11 is rotated to any limit in the rotation angle, the locking blocks 21a and 12b are interlocked with each other so as to maintain the position of the knob 11. Thus, the opened- or closed-state of the damper 12 can be maintained.
However, though the conventional air-vent is installed such that the stopper installed at the sidewall of the front duct moves in the arch-shaped recess of the knob, the rotation angle of the knob cannot be easily adjusted or detected when the stopper is worn down.